


More Like the Intern

by ryoku



Series: Blood and Bone [3]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Duke was first, Gen, Reverse Age AU, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 07:33:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13677135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryoku/pseuds/ryoku
Summary: Alfred picks up Duke at the airport after a study abroad trip to Paris. That is rarely a good sign.





	More Like the Intern

**Author's Note:**

> This is more like a reverse continuity au. I noticed that most reverse age aus don't include Duke, which I feel is quite a shame, so here he is! Also, it's nice to just write something, and not edit it to death....

The flight from Paris had been longer then expected. It was his own fault since he hadn't said anything about it to Bruce, and had just gone with a cheap flight that he could afford on his own. He hadn't wanted his first non-bat-related trip out of the States to be paid for by Bruce Wayne. Knowing Bruce, he probably would have just used the private jet or something. Duke did have some dignity left. Not much, but enough to forgo the asking. 

The fact that he was so tired had a lot to do with the fact that flights to Gotham were almost three times as expensive as flights to other cities, and they tended to get delayed, or outright canceled. The worst part was that anyone with the brain of a guppy knew why, and couldn't really argue about it. He'd almost considered flying into Metropolis, and driving a rental back, but in the end, he'd just picked the cheapest flight to Gotham he could get, and he'd paid for it with his time. The 6 hour delay had been the worst, waiting around sucked.

It came as a shock when Duke arrived at the airport, bags in hand and headed to the bus stop, that Alfred was waiting there for him. Or, more accurately, Alfred ninjaed behind him, and startled him. Duke had a running theory that Alfred could sneak up on Bruce, but that he had enough self preservation not to. Bruce didn't handle that sort of thing well. Duke was not nearly as jumpy or dangerous, obviously. 

“Jeez Al, you gave me a fright.” Duke said, gripping his duffel bag a bit tighter than necessary. If he had to guess, Alfred was quite pleased with himself, but of course it didn't show. 

“My most sincerest apologize, Master Duke.” Alfred said, with only the barest hint of amusement. If Duke didn't know Alfred so well, he never would have caught it.

The smile that Duke managed was probably more befuddled then anything. “So, why are you here?” Duke asked. He already knew the answer, or probably knew the answer, but there could have been some unforeseen factors involved that he wasn't aware of. With Waynes and their hired help, it was always a possibility, and Duke preferred to be as prepared as possible, even if at the moment he was the epitome of unprepared. 

Alfred took his small rolling bag in hand instead of actually answering. “The car is waiting, so we'd best be going.” 

The protest died on his lips, cause this was Alfred, and he was just as stupidly stubborn as Bruce, though with Alfred it was almost an endearing trait. “Thanks, I guess,” Duke said instead. “I can carry my own bag. I'm-” 'young' was probably a really stupid word to use, and Duke floundered for just a moment before tossing out “able?” but it came out as more of a question then anything else. 

Alfred gave him 'The Look'. “Just as you are perfectly capable of alerting me to when you are returning, I'm sure.” 

And well, yeah. Okay, but to be fair, Duke had been trying to avoid this sort of thing. He should have known better. So Alfred did sorta still feel like an over bearing grandfather at times, which wasn't all bad, but made everything weird since he was sort of Bruce's dad, and Bruce was not his family, even if Alfred had unofficially adopted Duke all on his own. Bruce was just, Bruce. He made everything weird.

Alfred started walking, and Duke rushed to catch up. “I'm sensing some hostility, but thank you for coming to pick me up.” He then motioned to the waiting buses as they exited the building. “That being said, the bus is right there, and I'd sorta expected to take it.” 

“What a tragedy that I've deprived you of public transportation,” Alfred deadpanned. “However will I redeem myself before Christmas.” Damn British sarcasm, Duke had to admire his form. 

“Have you ever considered writing a book?” Duke followed up. “You could title it, 'How to Sass but Not be an Ass'-”

“Language, Master Duke.” 

“cause you could do it. It'd be a best seller, and then you'd never have a reason to wash Bruce's dishes ever again.” When Alfred angled him a look, Duke gave him a cheeky smile and hefted his bags into the trunk when Alfred opened it. Alfred gave him a raised eyebrow when Duke headed over to the passenger side, but said nothing as he sat down in the drivers seat. Duke hated sitting in the back. It was Bruce's space, not his, and he wanted to keep it that way. Upfront with Alfred was better anyway. 

“I trust your studies were enriching?” Alfred inquired, as he pulled out of the pick up zone, and proceed out of the airport. 

“Yeah,” Duke answered, not bothering to hide the excitement in his voice. “Definitely! I really think this is what I wanna do Al. It's demanding work, especially if I want to work in Gotham, but it's a lot like being a detective too. Figuring things out.” 

“Should you prefer to work elsewhere, I'm sure it can be arranged.” Alfred said, without even a hint of displeasure. He'd almost expected it to be there, Bruce hardly seemed happy about his life choices, but Duke should have known better. Alfred was probably just happy he wasn't running around Gotham every night in a funny costume anymore. 

Duke rested his arm on the side of the window, and looked outside at the gritty streets of Gotham. “Probably not. I've finally got my folks in a good place. Finding the right environment, and a staff that they like is hard, and it takes so much effort and stress. I don't want to just uproot them and start the whole thing again.” 

“As you say, Master Duke. I am sure that they appreciate your efforts,” Alfred said, letting the conversation die out. It wasn't as hard to talk about his parents now, especially with people who knew about it already, but it still wasn't easy. He was glad Alfred didn't pry. 

“Do you think Doc Thompkins would let me volunteer at her clinic? That sort of stuff looks good on applications, and with my grades I'm going to need all the help I can get.” Alfred was about to say something when Duke looked over at him critically. “And that was not an invitation. To help. Please don't let Bruce bribe the schools I'm applying for.” 

“I'm sure Leslie would be more than happy to have the help. She is likely to be thrilled at your choice of careers,” Alfred said, only the hint of a smile on his face, before any sign that he was pleased disappeared. Duke couldn't tell if it was typical British stoicism, or if what he had to say next was generally distasteful. “As for Master Bruce, I'm afraid I don't 'let' him do anything, but I can put in a few strong words of discouragement.”

“I just want to earn this for myself.” Duke said, looking back out the window. A few years ago, he'd be having this conversation with his mother. Now when he told her, it'd be anyone's guess if she understood at all. Things had changed so much in only a few years, and sometimes it completely blindsided him. Alfred went out of his way to make sure Duke was always invited to the manor on holidays now that Duke lived on his own, but it just wasn't the same. 

“I have the utmost confidence that you will do just that, Master Duke.” The tone Alfred used was gentler than usual. As always, Alfred seemed to have a sixth sense about these things, and said nothing else on the subject. 

Duke watched as the city passed him by. It was dark out already, and his internal clock was so confused. Six hours didn't seem like much of a difference, especially since he'd had worse doing bat-work, but it was still unsettling. The lights of the city were so much sharper then Paris's clear crystal glows. 

The trip had felt like an escape. Getting away from Gotham, and all the baggage that came with it so that he could focus on his actual future had been almost surreal, like he was living a pleasant lie. It was concerning to think that being Duke Thomas, without all the extracurriculars, could be simultaneously relaxing and unnerving. It helped reassure him that he was making the right choice. He didn't want to be Bruce, couldn't do that. Bruce had no one and nothing, and Duke had two parents in a mental hospital that would become wards of the state if he died or got seriously injured. He needed a serious income to make sure they got the best care, the money he'd gotten from selling the house and dad's stocks wouldn't last forever. He couldn't spend his life chasing down bad guys and putting himself in the line of fire, but he could still help. There were other things that went into the vigilante lifestyle then punching people. 

It was good to be home. 

“So,” Duke said, after quite a bit of silence had passed between them. “ _Is_ there a reason you picked me up?” 

“Do I need one?” Alfred asked, obviously baiting him. 

“No,” Duke stuttered, “but-” 

“There has been a-” Alfred scrunched up his nose just for a quarter of a second, which was never a good sign “development. I thought it prudent to inform you as soon as possible.” 

“Nothing bad?” Duke asked, because a development could be anything from new software on the Batcomputer to Apokolips problems. Thank god Duke had never had to actually deal with Apokolips problems, but he'd read the reports, and they were not nice. He very much would rather avoid that sort of thing all together. 

“In the traditional sense, no, but I might find interpretation necessary in truthfully answering that question.”

Duke gave Alfred a look, trying his best to decode that statement. “Okay, so Bruce did something stupid,” Duke surmised. That happened more often then it should. Bruce tended to have a lot of stupid habits. The man was brilliant in his own way, but that didn't always translate well. “How stupid?” 

“Exceedingly,” Alfred said, and it was clipped and precise. Coming from Alfred, that said a lot. 

“That's a pretty strong adjective,” Duke said, not really sure what stupid thing Bruce could have done that hadn't gotten anyone hurt, but had pissed Alfred off royally.

“It would seem, that at some point in their sordid history, say, about 9 years ago, Master Bruce and Miss Talia al Ghul felt the inescapable need to-” Alfred paused again, and Duke did not like where this was going, “commingle, as it were.” 

Duke's brain flat lined for about five seconds. “Wha- Ew! I didn't need to know that.” He needed brain bleach. Just thinking of Bruce and Talia- ugh! Granted, Talia was a damn good looking woman, but Bruce? Just, no! He was still mentally reeling, when something else Alfred had said hit him. Duke looked over at the older man in shock. “You don't mean-” 

“I'm afraid so.” Alfred said, with the gravity of a man who had dealt with too much bullshit in his long life. “Master Bruce has recently discovered that he is the less than proud father of an 8 year old al Ghul assassin.” 

“Wow.” It was the only thing that came to Duke's mind. Talia and Bruce having a kid. Just, wow. “Someday that's going to be a really funny sentence, but today isn't it.” 

“I felt you should be informed,” Alfred said, as if the whole thing annoyed him. It probably did. Duke was pretty sure this hadn't been what Alfred wanted when he'd teased Bruce about proper Wayne heirs. 

“Uh, thanks? I guess?” Duke answered, shaking his head as if to dislodge the horrible mental image that came with the revelation. “Jeez, Talia and Bruce, talk about bad role models. That kid is going to have issues.”

“It has certainly been an upheaval.”

“Please tell me you're not taking me to the manner now.” Duke looked over at Alfred, willing and ready to plead if it was necessary. 

Alfred actually smiled at that, and raised one eyebrow. “Indeed I am not. You are invited to dinner this Wednesday, where Master Bruce will formally introduce you, himself.” 

“Good,” Duke signed in relief. “I can do Wednesday. I'll be mentally prepared by then.” Duke looked back out the windshield. “Maybe. Wow, Bruce and Talia. That poor kid.” 

“I do believe, Master Duke, that we are in agreement on that.” 

-

The second the door was open, Duke was happy and relieved to be back in his own apartment. Not the manner, not a hotel, his own place. It wasn't big, and it wasn't fancy, but it was the apartment he'd bought with the money he got from selling the house. It was home, and Duke was disgustingly proud of it. 

He pushed the door closed with his foot, dumped his bags in front of the door, and was secretly happy that Alfred hadn't followed him up. He'd cleaned before he left, but it probably wasn't up to Alfred's impeccable standards. He'd unpack later, for now all he wanted was to take a warm shower, get into something clean and go to sleep in his own bed. 

The problem with that, was the ninja star that he dodged right after walking into his bedroom. He hadn't even turned on the damn light yet, and there was a stupid ninja star lodged in his wall. “Oh hell no,” Duke said, mostly to himself, as he jumped back into the hallway, and reached down to one of the many safe boxes he'd hidden in the floor boards. “Not in my apartment. I ain't got nothing, and Wayne is not paying any damn ransom, so whoever you are, you'd better get the hell out of my apartment!” 

Said safe box had a vest, which Duke shucked on at lightning speed. Just something to quickly cover up the really squishy parts. A pair of gloves were next, but he'd only gotten one on when something small burst out of the bedroom.

Duke's arm was out in an instant, grabbing at who ever it was, but the figure dodged backwards. 

It was a kid. A small, dark haired boy in a black ninja outfit, with a cloth mask covering the lower part of his face. Duke's brain probably would have had a problem with that, but the kid was charging at him with a sword almost as big as he was, an angry yell splitting the air. “No, no, no!” Duke yelled, as he dodged the strike. “Not in my apartment you little gremlin!” 

As the blade passed him, Duke reached out for the kid's wrist with his right hand, slammed his left palm into the kid's fore arm, and then lightning fast swept up with his right hand to catch the kid in the chin. He went straight for the sword then, using all of his strength to hit pressure points so that it tumbled out of the kid's hand. 

“Now whatever this is, the first rule in this apartment is no slashing up my walls, floors or in-bedding blades in them, you got that? If you're here to murder me, you could have the decency to do it in a dark alley like a normal person!” Duke said, but the kid had already broken out of his hold. He sprung backwards, trying to land a kick that Duke dodged. 

The kid landed on Duke's couch, and the fact that he was standing on it pissed Duke off even more. “Were you raised in a sty? What are you doing here you rude little chipmunk?” 

The kid glared at him, and stepped on the coffee table instead. He obviously wanted the high ground. “Consider this a warning, Duke Thomas. I am the superior heir to my father's legacy, and you are nothing more than a pretender.” Then the kid was jumping across the room to retrieve the sword he'd dropped. All Duke could think was that this little brat had actually come into his apartment, lodged a ninja star in his wall, and then proceed to walk all over his couch and coffee table with his ninja boots on. 

“What did I just say about sharp pointy objects in my apartment!” Duke growled, backing up so that there was a safe distance between them. “Okay, okay, hold on a sec.” Duke put up his hands, palms out, in a pacifying gesture. “Hello tiny, assassin, child. I'm Duke, as you seem to know. Now that I've introduced myself, it's in the ninja honor code to introduce yourself before you disembowel me.” 

The kid glared, which really wasn't much of a change, but he reached up to shuck down the cloth covering his mouth. It was like a tiny, angry, Bruce, with green eyes and darker skin. As if Duke had really needed any extra confirmation of just who his little visitor was. “I am Damian al Ghul, heir to the Demon's Head and Son of the Bat. You, pretender,” Damian spit out the word as something vile and substandard, “are not worthy to be my father's apprentice.”

“Uh, okay?” Duke answered, shrugging his shoulders. Damian, somehow the name fit perfectly. He'd expected something more exotic from Talia, but for the little demon in front of him, it was almost a perfect fit. “That's fine? You're playing up the apprentice thing a little much though. It isn't like the Bat's a Jedi, and only gets one Padawan.” The kids eyes narrowed, and Duke wondered if his face was actually stuck like that. Maybe the kid wasn't a movie fan. “I always felt more like the intern anyway, I was over worked, and they occasionally fed me.”

The kid took another swing at him in obvious displeasure, and Duke dodged. “Okay, so you're not much for banter, something you and bat-dad share. How about this, I solemnly swear that I give up all rights to your fathers fortune, fame and legacy. You got any sacred ninja honor scrolls or something so that I can sigh the contract in blood?”

Damian eyed him critically. “You would give away all rights to my father's lineage?” 

“Absolutely,” Duke answered without a second thought. “It's all yours.” 

“Spineless coward!” Damian yelled, and lunged at him again. Duke dodged this time, and tried to grab onto Damian's hand again, but the kid was quick, and twisted out of the way. “I should carve out your heart for such insolence!” 

“Hey, I think I'm being more than reasonable here, little ninja man,” Duke whined, trying to placate the kid with the sword. “You want all your father's honor and glory? Take it, it's yours. I've got my own parents, and as you so eloquently put it, my own last name. I don't need Wayne Bat bucks to make me happy, it's yours for the taking. Tell him to write me out of the will for all I care.” 

Damian eyed him, with a look of disgust on his face that was all Talia. God, this was weird. “I will leave you, craven, but if I hear even a whisper of you usurping my position, I will gut you.” And just like that, Damian slipped the sword into the scabbard at his side. Duke wasn't quite out of the frying pan yet, but the tension in his shoulders eased a little. 

“You've made your point very clear,” Duke asserted. “No usurping, I got it.” 

Damian turned towards the large apartment windows, before giving him a sideways look. Now that the kid wasn't trying to murder him, his face was smoother, and so obviously childlike. It didn't look like the kid had smiled a day in his life. “I expected better.” 

“Counter point,” Duke said, pointing a finger at Damian. “You're 8, and fighting an 8 year old is like fighting a girl. Even if you win, no one cares.” 

“I would never lose, Thomas.” Somehow, Damian was capable of making 'Thomas' sound like an insult.

“Not saying you would, cause you're probably 70% ninja and 30% spite, with honor mixed in there somewhere-” 

“You, are an imbecile,” Damian interrupted.

“Make that 40% spite.” Duke was probably pushing his luck, but he took a tentative step forward. Damian didn't budge from his place, and didn't look at all offended at the encroachment. “Anyway, Damian. Hi. You can just call me Duke. I can tell you're not so good in the social niceties department, guess that isn't a priority at ninja school. Let me give you some advice. Your old man-” 

“My father-” 

“-wouldn't be happy to learn that you broke into my apartment and tried to ninja me. I mean, he'd probably be impressed you got past my security, but the ninjaing he really wouldn't like. He's hard to please on his own, without the mauling. You're just going to make him angry and upset doing things like this.” Damian gave no indication that he believed Duke, but he was obviously paying close attention. It was better then nothing. “Bruce would want us to play nice, and get along.” 

“If you are attempting to sway me, you are hardly convincing.” 

“No swaying involved,” Duke reassured. “I get that in the League of Assassins, it's probably completely normal to just off your competition, but that's not how things work with the Bat. Bruce isn't the most talkative guy, so maybe you don't know that yet, but let me tell you, it's a thing.” 

“I am highly capable of fulfilling any requirement my father has of me,” and the kid said it with such absolute certainty that it almost made Duke sympathize with him. Bruce was going to wreck every illusion of superiority this kid had, and Duke wasn't even sure how he felt about that. “I don't require a cowards advise.” 

“That's fine,” Duke said, suddenly not as interested in being glib. This was so wrong. Duke had no doubt in his mind that if Bruce had known about this kid, he never would have been raised like this. It was just going to be one more failure that Bruce attacked himself with, and that wasn't fair to Damian. “But if you do, I'm here. As long as it doesn't involve maiming of myself, the apartment, or the fixtures, you can come here when you want. This is a safe zone, no swords and all other pointy objects are not to be brought with you. Other than that, you can come here if you need to get away, if you need advise or are otherwise frustrated with how drastically your life is going to change.” 

“I am the blood son,” Damian said with such haughty superiority that it couldn't have come from anyone but an al Ghul. “I will not require anything of you, Thomas.” 

Duke shook his head, and covered his eyes with his hand for just a few moments.“All the same, I'm available if-” Duke pulled his hand away, “and he's gone.” One of the windows was open just a bit, and the curtain was still settling. 

Duke sighed like he was still 13, a full body thing that raised and lowered his shoulders, and let his arms sag at his side. He stomped over to the window, and shut it. The security system was the next stop, and he quickly reset it. He considered changing the pass codes, but decided against it. If Damian wanted to get in, he would, and Duke had genuinely offered the apartment as a safe place for him. Changing the codes seemed counterproductive. 

He really wanted a shower, but Duke ambled over to the house phone, and called Alfred. “I take it back,” he said, before Alfred could get a word out. “Poor Bruce.”

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I'll write something where they actually get along....but also maybe not.


End file.
